Support this project!

Please help us support the Student Biodiversity Ambassadors! We are looking for sponsors to help support a unique experience to travel to Alaska’s biologically diverse public lands and work with scientists in the field. Please donate at whatever level appropriate.

 

Sponsorship
$500 – To support travel for one student to their local park (e.g., a student from Shishmaref to Serpentine Hot Springs in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve).

$1,000 – To support a student to experience another park bioblitz, away from his/her local village.

$5,000 – To support the work of Alaska Teen Media Institute in mentoring and video production.

Donations are made to Spirit of Youth’s Alaska Teen Media Institute. Donations can be made through Paypal or contact Rosey Robards 907-272-2864 for more information.

Overview
The Youth Videography Project will invite five high school students develop a video project that showcases their experience in national parks and share their journey of biodiversity discovery. At the end of the project, the students’ videos will be shown in the parks and in their local communities, as well as being posted on NPS social media and on websites.

Alaska Teen Media Institute is working in partnership with the National Park Service to support teens who will create videos of their experiences in parks. As part of the NPS Centennial celebration, bioblitz events are being held in five parks in Alaska: Bering Land Bridge, Denali, Gates of the Arctic, Kenai Fjords, and Klondike Gold Rush. “BioBlitzes” are events that engage local students and teachers, with scientists, to explore the biological diversity of parks.

Local high schools will nominate students to attend each bioblitz as “Student Biodiversity Ambassadors.” Each Student Biodiversity Ambassador will:

1. Develop a vision and storyline for a video that showcases bioblitz activities and highlights the biodiversity values to the park and local community;

2. Capture video (in accordance with vision and

3. Convene at the Alaska Teen Media Institute with fellow Student Biodiversity Ambassadors to edit and finalize videos that tell the story of their

4. Share their experience by screening the videos at school and park events and posting the videos to NPS websites and social media outlets.

Throughout the Youth Videography Project, each Student Biodiversity Ambassador will receive mentorship from a Media Support Team comprised of National Park Service and Alaska Teen Media Institute media specialists.

The Youth Videography Project will encourage Alaska youth to explore the natural world and take a leadership role in national park stewardship. Additionally, the project will result in tangible outreach tools: videos that tell stories about biodiversity in Alaska national parks. These will be shared by the National Park Service and its partners as a means of improving biodiversity awareness and making Alaska parks and biological heritage relevant to people around the world.

Dates and Duration
The Youth Videography Project will take place throughout the spring and summer of 2016. Initial contact with Student Biodiversity Ambassadors will occur by May 1, 2016 and video production will wrap up by October 31, 2016. Bioblitz events are scheduled to take place at the following locations (and dates): Klondike Gold Rush (May 16), Gates of the Arctic (May 20-22), Denali (summer), Kenai Fjords (June), and Bering Land Bridge (July 7-10). Student Biodiversity Ambassadors will convene in Fairbanks to edit video for one week during September.

Alaska Teen Media Institute
The Alaska Teen Media Institute provides teens with the tools and training needed to produce stories, and the opportunity to share their stories, told in their own voices, through a variety of media. Teen voices are often underrepresented. Engaging youth in telling stories of their communities, their culture and heritage, and their environment often results in powerful messages. Youth productions present fresh perspectives and can strengthen their connection to their community, as well as provide opportunities for them to learn and experience new places. In addition, the process of learning about communication, videography, and working with peers and mentors provides them with valuable job skills.

Contacts
Rosey Robards, Director, Alaska Teen Media Institute, rosey@alaskateenmedia.org, 907-272-2864

Whitney Boone, Natural Resource Specialist, National Park Service-Alaska Regional Office, whitney_boone@nps.gov, 907-644-3582